Yesterday, New York Supreme Court Judge Geoffrey D. Wright ruled in favor of a temporary restraining order that would halt an annual longboarding race through Manhattan this weekend. Broadway Bombbegan in 2002, and has grown from 20 racers to an expected 2,000 this year, skating from 116th to Wall St.

The restraining order was granted on the grounds that no parade or event permit was granted for the event, and while police could certainly make arrests during the race itself–which is sponsored by NY Longboard Association, the sheer number of people participating would make it nearly impossible to control.

Well, skateboarding is all about punk rock, right? Damn the man, screw the authority…we expected that Bombs Over Broadway’s co-founder, Ian Nichols, would be gearing up to give a big middle finger to the city and go ahead with the race anyway.

So color us surprised when we reached him by phone yesterday for comment.
“I’m no longer associated with the race,” Mr. Nichols told The Observer. “I don’t want to go to jail.”

“You have to understand, there is an image of skateboarders are criminals…we’re not criminals,” said the 43-year-old, who refused to give his occupation or the name of Bombs Over Broadway’s other founder. “Most people who participate in Broadway Bombs are over 30, and have jobs and a family. It’s this idea from the 70s that skateboarding is counterculture, but I’ve been skating in traffic since I was 10 or 11. People find it meditative. I don’t know why it’s stigmatized so much worse than biking.”

Well, wouldn’t the sheer number of people clogging up traffic be a problem?